Heston defends closure of Fat Duck

By Becky Paskin

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Fat duck The fat duck Heston blumenthal The guardian

Heston defends closure of Fat Duck
Heston Blumenthal has defended his decision to temporarily close The Fat Duck following a potential food poisoning outbreak

Heston Blumenthal has defended his decision to temporarily close The Fat Duck​ following an outbreak of ‘diarrhoea and sickness’ among his diners over the course of four weeks.

Since closing the restaurant last Monday (23 February), Blumenthal has called in the Windsor Environmental Health Department (EHD) to investigate the cause of his diners’ sickness.

Several tests have so far been carried out and all returned negatively, and although the EHD is awaiting the results of the last batch of tests, the cause of the outbreak is expected to be down to a ‘non-specific virus’.

In an interview​ with Guardian food and drink writer Matthew Fort, Blumenthal said that while the closure was a ‘massive financial hit’ he doesn’t regret shutting down the restaurant, which was last year voted the second best in the world.

“I obviously have serious regrets about the whole situation which is deeply upsetting, and the decision to close the restaurant was a major one, but morally and technically there was no option,” he explained. “As yet we’ve had no cancellations, although there have been some at the Hinds Head. Any effects of this we’ll be finding out over the coming weeks.

“You put so much blood, sweat and tears into this just to produce the quality and give the diner the experience you want to give, and I’m as fastidious about the hygiene side of things as I am about the actual cooking processes themselves.

“We might not even find anything and it’s not the easiest thing to test for viruses, but the most important thing is to get to the bottom of this and not have this happen again.”

The Fat Duck is expected to reopen again tomorrow (4 March), pending the results of the remaining tests. Blumenthal`s latest TV show Heston`s Victorian Feast​, in which he conjures an extravagant nineteenth century dinner for a host of celebrity diners, starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.

Related topics Casual Dining

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